JOHANNESBURG: South Africa has declared Israel’s chargé d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours, citing repeated violations of diplomatic norms and direct insults aimed at President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The foreign ministry said Seidman used official Israeli social media platforms to launch “insulting attacks” on the president and accused the embassy of failing to notify authorities about visits by senior Israeli officials. Officials described the conduct as “a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention,” adding that it undermined trust and bilateral protocols.

The expulsion comes days after an Israeli delegation visited South Africa’s Eastern Cape province to offer assistance in water, healthcare, and agriculture. Pretoria criticised the visit as a breach of diplomatic protocol due to the lack of prior notification.

A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy declined to comment.

Relations between South Africa and Israel have grown increasingly tense. Pretoria has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and filed a case at the International Court of Justice in December 2023 accusing Israel of genocide, a charge Israel rejects.

In the same year, South African lawmakers voted to close Israel’s embassy in Pretoria and suspend diplomatic ties, though the resolution was not implemented. The latest expulsion marks the sharpest escalation yet in the diplomatic rift between the two countries.